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Natural Flavor Additives

12/29/2011

Can you believe the FDA (The Food and Drug Administration) does not require flavor companies to disclose the ingredients of their additives, so long as all the chemicals are considered by the agency to be GRAS (generally regarded as safe).

'This lack of public disclosure enables the companies to maintain the secrecy of their formulas. The ubiquitous phrase "artificial strawberry flavor" gives little hint of the chemical wizardry and manufacturing skill that can make a highly processed food taste like a strawberry." Fast Food Nation.

Some people would argue that....

The FDA gets paid under the table by the flavorist companies, to look the other way and make sure their top secret recipes will not be disclosed. If it doesn't make the FDA money then why would they want to be a part of it?

I've heard that the FDA isn't here for the consumers, that they are here to keep consumers sick. The FDA isn't selling pills, but they are taking pay offs from the drug companies to get their product passed through the system much faster. Why do you think so many medications get recalled?

Some believe, drug companies wants you to stay sick, to never find a cure to what you have and for you to keep taking their pills. Why would they drug companies want to cure what you have when they can make more money on keeping you alive? Their interests lye in making money.

12/28/2011

The American flavor industry sells their home made chemical formulas to all different types of food and beverage companies around the world. What frightens me about this list is, we would have no clue walking into a restaurant and truly know if we ate chemically enhanced food or 100% natural.

These flavorist sell to:

Dairy Companies

Fast Food Companies

Frozen Food Companies

Meat, Poultry & Sea Food Products

Snack Food Companies

Gourmet Foods

Miscellaneous Foods and Products

The list goes on. Unfortunately most restaurants aren't liable to disclose if they are using natural flavors in order to enhance the food they're serving.

Lets try this, walk away from the computer and open your refrigerator, your freezer, your kitchen cupboards, and look at the labels on your food. You'll find "natural flavor" or "artificial flavor" in just about every ingredient list.

In the book "Fast Food Nation" it says "flavorists also makes the smell of household products such as deodorant, dishwashing detergent, bath soap, shampoo, furniture polish and floor wax. All of these aromas are made through the same basic process: the manipulation of volatile chemicals to create a particular smell. The basic science behind the scent of your shaving cream is the same as that governing the flavor of your TV dinner."

If the quality of food is measured by flavor, then how will we ever know if we are ever consuming quality food when the flavor is always manipulated? Not only that but the color is also obstructed! Fake color, fake flavor and fake smell. I can even grasp what we are really consuming. Quite frankly, it's all disgusting.

"The flavor industry is highly secretive. Its leading companies will not divulge the precise formulas of flavor compounds or the identities of clients. The secrecy is deemed essential for protecting the reputation of beloved brands. The fast-food chains, understandably, would like the public to believe that the flavors of their food somehow originate in their restaurant kitchens, not in distant factories run by other firms." Fast Food Nation.

Also it's very rare to find a fast food company that do not use any natural flavors in their meat, fries or shakes. I recommend staying away from fast food in general but at least they could give us some quality in their meals.

Tomorrow lean more about the manipulation of the natural flavor industry and what the FDA has to say about it.

I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't recognize one. But guess what? All those chemically combined is a typical artificial strawberry flavor found in a strawberry milk shake you can get in a Burger King. This list was taken from the book "Fast Food Nation".

12/26/2011

Have you ever picked up a drink or a packaged food item, read the back and noticed the words "natural flavors"?

Do you know what natural flavors really mean? How natural are "natural flavors"?

It scares me when boxes or drinks can be so vague. Personally I want to know what goes into my body. As a consumer I can understand why people wouldn't have any concerns with the ingredient that state "Natural Flavors". Sorry to break the ice, but you have every right to question the fine print.

What if I told you natural flavors is a man-made preservative? Anything that lists the ingredient "natural flavors' is in fact a chemical additive and was produced in a laboratory.

Have you ever read the book "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser? He discusses "flavorists" who are scientists employed by an organization called the American Flavor Industry. They speciallize in duplicating the taste and smell of organically grown products and adding the chemicals to processed foods and drinks which not only make them addictive, but makes you think you are eating/drinking the real "natural" thing. The American Flavor Industry banks approximately 1.4 billion dollars annually!

You can find natural flavor additives in almost all processed products. Weather it be in a jar, bag or box the chances are it has been enhanced with natural flavoring.

These flavors can be so stimulating to where it will hijack your brain and make you crave more of that companies product. The purpose is to get you addicted, not make the flavor linger too much or too little and makes you want to eat more to taste that punch of flavor all over again.

Tomorrow watch a video on natural flavors and find out what natural flavors really consist of.